Shoe and method of making same



March 28, 1944.- L AY ERS 2,345,372

I SHOE AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed July 5, 1941 Patented Mar. 28, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 8 Claims.

This invention relates to shoe construction and more particularly'to that portion. particularly designed for the. attachment of the outersole.

One object of the invention i's'to produce an innersole having an inseam rib, the. innersole being made of inexpensive material and in a; manner' which permits rapid fabrication with the minimum of. care and skill, and yet which is ofexcellent quality.

Afurther object is to provide a construction of innersole and related parts of sufficient strength to permit the attachment of an outersole entirely by outersole stitches, if this is desired, but without the necessity of employing a heavy welt or the clumsy welt inseam stitching, heretofore employed, or a channeled innnersole;

A further object is to avoid'the' necessity of using any filler between the inner and outersoles, and to avoid the formation of gutters or other irregularities on the inner face' of the shoe bottom, or constructions which permit the formation of such gutters or irregularities during wear of theshoe.

For a more complete understanding of this invention, together with further objects and advantageous constructions; reference may be had to the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a plan view of an innersole blank suitable for use in practicing the invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view'of a piece: of strip material which may-also be employed.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the strip material shown in Figure 2 folded longitudinally for application to the sole blank of Figure 1'.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary plan view showing the strip of Figure 3 applied to the blank of Fig ure 1.

Figure 5 is a sectional view on line 5--5' of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5but showing a reinforcing layer applied to the face of the blank and to the upper layer of the marginal. strip.

Figure ,7 is a view similar to Figure 6, but showing the margin of the reinforcing layer and the part. of the marginal strip to which this layer is secured: turned back to receive inseam securing means.

Figures 8, 9 and 10 are fragmentary sectional views. through shoes of different construction-s, butall embodying the-innersole of Figure 7-.

,Figures '11 and 12 are viewssimilar to Figures 8, 9. and 10,-but omitting the outersole. and showing. other constructions of welt or: locking strip which may 'be employed.

Referring to the drawing, atl is shown a flat inner sole blank which may be of thin sheet material as it is not required tobe channeled in the manufacture of the innersole. Next, a thin strip of material such as light cloth, paper, or the like, as at 2, with or without one edge being slit inwardly as at 3, and folded longitudinally as at 4 in Figure, 3, is secured to one face of the innersole blank I about the margin and to the extent desired for inseam stitching rib. Ordinarily this will be" entirely around the forepart of the shoe as shown in Figure 4, although it may extend into the shank or even around the heel, depending upon the particular method desired for lasting the shank and heel portions of the shoe.

The fold line 4 is positioned facing inwardly and the free edge portion- (slit or unslit) is-preferably disposed away from the innersole blank; The slits are for the purpose of permitting ready conformability of the folded strip to the contour of the sole edge. Where made of bias tape,- a stretchable material, or the like, or slitting may be found necessary for this purpose. This strip is preferably a quite than material, its.chieffunctionbeing to define a marginal portion of the blank outwardly of the line of foldto which a reinforcing sheet material, preferably of fabric, such as canvas, or the likegdoesnot adhere; :Such reinforcing layer is shown at I0 in Figure 6 and is preferably cemented; flat. against the face of the blank I to which the strip" 2 hasbeen attached and also to the top layer or leaf of this folded strip 2 from the fold-lineoutwardly. Thus; this fabric. layer In isxapplied .to. the same face ofthe strip 2: as is the blank I; butonth'e opposite side of the line of. fold. By applying the reinforcingffabric layer 10 while thestrip 2 is in folded condition, it maybe applied quickly and. easily and does not require anytreatment to conform the layer to the adjacent face of the free leaf of the folded strip 2. A cement such as a rubb'ercement will ordinarily be found satisfactory' for securing the folded strip or tape 2 and the fabric layer ID in position. strip or tape 2 is shown of exaggerated relative thickness in order to be seen readily'inth'e drawing, but in practice the reinforcing fabric layer may show little or no' bend where it bridges over the folded edge of the strip or tape 2 when aption of the folded strip or tape-2 in contactthere The folded with into the inwardly inclined position shown in Figure 7. Ordinarily the margin II of the fabric layer I may be puckered together sufficiently to form a, proper stitch-receiving lip or rib or inseam anchorage, although if desired, of course, it could be slit inwardly to facilitate this action.

While an innersole thus constructed can :be employed to advantage as a welt innersole, it is also applicable to an improved shoe construction shown more in detail in Figures 8 to 12. Referring, for example, to Figure 8, the innersole of Figure '7 is temporarily secured to the last I5, as by the usual innersole tacks, and the upper materials, such as the outer I6 and the lining H, are lasted and secured by inseam fastenings such as the inseam stitching I8 to the lip formed by the marginal portion II of the fabric layer I0 and by the free leaf of the folded strip or tape 2 secured thereto. Also secured by the same inseam stitching I8 is a welt strip or looking strip I9, shown in Figure 8 as slit inwardly from its lower face, which will be the flesh side where leather is employed, as shown at 20. This slit is positioned somewhat outwardly of the inner edge of the welt strip I9 and forms a pocket to receive the outer portions of the inseam stitches I8. The marginal portion II of the fabric layer Ill (together with the free leaf of the folded tape 2) is then preferably bent down about the inner faces of the stitching I8 and is cemented to the outer face of the reinforcing fabric layer I0 inwardly of the inseam stitches I8. Preferably this is done with a flexible cement such as a latex or rubber cement or the like. The edges of the upper materials I6 and I1, trimmed to substantially the level of the bottom of the welt strip I9, and the sides of the slit 20 have applied thereto a permanent cement, such as pyroxylin cement, in a manner to permeate the entire inseam structure. Without this cement permeation, the securement of the welt strip I9 would be quite insecure, since the amount of between substance spanned by the inseam stitching is quite limited. The welt strip I 9 can be readily pulled away from the lasted shoe without the-cement; the function of the inseam stitching I8, in so far as the securement of the welt strip I9 is concerned, being only temporarily to attach the welt strip I9'in position while the permanent cement is being applied and while it is allowed to harden.

With this construction, including inseam stitching I8 and the permanent cement permeating the inseam structure, the final securement of the welt stripj I9 is sosecure that it is entirely feasible to secure an outersol 2| to the lasted sho'e solely by outersolestitching- 22 as shown-in Figure 10. However, if desired, the outersoleZI may be cemented in position, or secured by both'cement and outersole stitching. In Figure 8 it' is shown as secured'by cement applied in a band the full width of the welt strip I9, the inseam and as much as desired ofthe exposed face of the marginal portion II of the reinforcing fabric sheet material III (and the free leaf of the folded tape2 adhered'thereto). i V

In: Figure 9 thfeoutersole is shown as secured by the outersole stitching 22 and also by a narrow band ofx'zementof a width approximately that of thednseam' portion of the shoe, usually excluding. the outer-portion of welt strip IQ'andth'ere inforcing layer In of the innersole inwardly of; its

I9, where leather is employed-gforthis welt strip,

is highly desirable, since it provides a surface of a porous texture well adapted to receive and be permeated by the permanent cement, this welt strip I9 may be secured by inseam stitching I8 lying in a slit 25 cut in the grain face of the welt strip I9 as shown in Figure 11, or seated in a slit 26 cut inwardly from the outer edge of this welt strip I9 as shown in Figure 12. This latter construction may be of particular value when it is desired to give the appearance of a very thin edge shoe, in which case the lower portion of the welt strip I9, substantially up to the slit 28, may be trimmed away as on the line a of Figure 12. This will then expose the flesh portion of the leather for application of the permanent cement. It is not so convenient to do this with the construction shown in Figure 11 and more reliance would have to be placed on the cement applied to the inseam portion having good penetration such as sufi'iciently to seal the inseam stitching to the parts of the shoe through which it is passed.

It will be noted that due to the thinness of the reinforcing fabric layer I0, which may be of canvas, it maybe folded back on itself, generally about the inseam stitching I8, without the production of any substantial ridges along the innersole, so that ordinarily no filler whatever is necessary to be used between the outer sole and innersole; thus providing against the bunching and the formation of undesirable gutters in the inner face or foot-side of the innersole in the shoe due to the use of a filler or innersole channeling. A slightamount of filler may be used, particularly at the toe portion, if the Plaiting'of the in-turned margin of the fabric layer I0 at this portion becomes undesirably thick and it is not desired to slit or remove portions of this in-turned margin to prevent or to reduce the effect of such bunching.

It will also be noted that in the completed shoe the line of fold of the reinforcing layer is positioned inwardly of the margin of the innersole blank, and that the strip material or tape 2 is secured at one portion of its width to the innersole blank I outwardly of the fold-line of the reinforcing layer, bridges over this fold-line, and throughout another portion of its width it is secured to the inturned margin II of the fabric layer I0 and is in contact with the outersole, which latter also engages the welt strip, the trimmed margins 'of the upper materials, and the in-turned margin II of'the reinforcing fabric layer I0 inwardly of the strip material or'tape 2.

From the foregoing description of certain em bodiments of this invention, it should be evident to those skilled'in the art that various changes and modifications might be made without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention. Y

I claim: v

1. The method of making a shoe which com prises providing an innersole having arelatively thin, flexible folded hinge-tape having one leaf thereof adhesively secured to and extending about the margin of at least the forepart of the innersole and with the free edge of the leaf disposed nearer to the edge of the innersole and having a flexible reinforcing fabric adhesively secured to the innersole inwardly and adjacent to said foldline and extending over and adhesively secured ginal portion of said reinforcing fabric by a line of stitches extending through the welt strip and through the marginal zone of said upper material and through said hinge-tape and through the marginal portion of the reinforcing fabric near said hinge-line, folding inwardly said marginal portion of the reinforcing fabric and the leaf of the hinge-tape adhered thereto, and cementing said inturned marginal portion of the reinforcing fabric upon itself and cementing an outsole to said welt and to said inturned marginal portion of reinforcing fabric.

2. A shoe including an unchannelled innersole blank, a reinforcing sheet secured to the bottom surface of at least the forepart of the innersole blank in a zone spaced inwardly from the edge of said innersole blank and with the marginal portion of said reinforcing sheet material folded inwardly toward itself about a fold-line spaced inwardly from the edge of the innersole by a predetermined distance, a longitudinally-creased tape extending about the marginal portion of at least the forepart of the innersole blank along the bottom surface thereof, a portion of said tape on one side of said crease overlying and secured to a marginal portion of the innersole blank between the edge of the innersole blank and the fold-line of said reinforcing sheet material and with another portion of said tape on the other side of its crease abutting the inturned marginal portion of said reinforcing sheet material thereby adjoining said reinforcing sheet material at the fold-line thereof, an upper and a welt strip secured to said reinforcing sheet material by a line of stitches extending through the welt strip and through the marginal zone of the upper material and through said tape and through said reinforcing sheet material at the fold-line thereof and anchored in the fold thereof, and an outsole secured to said' welt and cemented to the in-folded marginal portion of said reinforcing material in a zone inwardly of said stitch-line.

3. A shoe including an innersole blank, a reinforcing fabric cemented to the bottom surface of at least the forepart of the innersole blank in a zone spaced inwardly from the edge of said innersole blank and with the marginal portion of said reinforcing fabric folded inwardly toward itself about a fold-line spaced inwardly from the edge of the innersole by a predetermined distance and cemented to itself, a thin tape extending about the marginal portion of at least forepart of the innersole blank along the bottom surface thereof and overlying and adhesively secured to a marginal portion of the innersole blank between the edge of the innersole blank and the fold-line of said reinforcing fabric and also overlying and adhesively secured to the inturned marginal portion of said reinforcing fabric thereby bridging the fold-line thereof, an upper and a welt strip secured to said reinforcing fabric by a line of stitches extending through the welt strip and through the marginal zone of the upper material and through said tape and through said reinforcing fabric at the foldline thereof and anchored in the fold thereof, and an outsole cemented to said welt and to said inturned marginal portion of the reinforcing fabric.

4. A shoe including an unchanneled innersole, a reinforcing sheet secured to the bottom surface of at least the forepart of the innersole in a zone spaced inwardly from the edge of said innersole and having a marginal portion thereof not secured to the innersole, a longitudinallycreased tape extending about marginal portion of at least the forepart of the innersole along the bottom surface thereof, with an outer widthwise portion of said tape, outwardly of said crease, adhesively secured to the marginal portion of said innersole and with another widthwise portion of said tape, on the other side of said crease, abutting the unsecured marginal portion of said reinforcing sheet material, said unsecured mar ginal portion of the reinforcing sheet material and the widthwise portion of the tape abutting it constituting an inseam-anchorage, therebt forming a composite flexible innersole having a generally smooth and generally ribless foot-side surface upon continued use of the shoe, and an upper and a welt strip secured to said inseam-anchorage by a. line of stitches extending through the inner edge of said welt strip and through the marginal portion of the upper and through said inseam-anchorage, and an outsole secured to said welt strip and secured to said reinforcing material in a zone upwardly of the line of inseam stitches.

5. A shoe including a relatively thin unchannelled innersole, a reinforcing fabric ply cemented to the bottom surface of at least the forepart of said innersole in a zone spaced inwardly from the edge of said innersole and having a marginal portion thereof not secured to the innersole, a thin and freely flexible longitudinally creased tape of a thickness less than one third of the thickness of the innersole, extending about marginal portion of at least the forepart of the innersole along the bottom surface thereof, with an outer widthwise portion of said tape outwardly of said crease adhesively secured to the marginal portion of said innersole and with another widthwise portion ofsaid tape, on the other side of said crease, abutting the unsecured marginal portion of said reinforcing fabric, said unsecured marginal portion of the reinforcing fabric and the widthwise portion of the tape abutting it constituting an inseam-anchorage, thereby forming a composite flexible innersole having a generally smooth and generally ribless foot-side surface upon continued use of the shoe, and an upper and a welt strip secured to said inseam-anchorage by a line of stitches extending through said welt strip and through the marginal portion of the upper and through said inseam-anchorage, and an outsole cemented to said welt strip and secured to said reinforcing fabric inwardly of said line of inseam stitches.

6. A shoe including a relatively thin unchannelled innersole, a relatively thin reinforcing sheet secured to the bottom surface of at least the forepart of said innersole in a zone spaced inwardly from the edges of said innersole and having an in-turned marginal portion extended from the outer boundary of said secured zone, a relatively thin and limp creased tape extending about a marginal portion of the forepart of the innersole along the bottom surface thereof, and overlying and secured to the bottom surface of the innersole intermediate the edge of the innersole and the zone in which said reinforcing sheet is secured to the innersole, and also overlying and secured to the in-turned marginal zone of the reinforcing sheet, thereby bridging the outer boundary line of said zone of securement of the reinforcing sheet, said inturned marginal portion of the reinforcing sheet and the part of the tape overlying and secured to the same constituting a thin inseam-anchorage, which, to-

gether with said thin unchanneled innersole forms a flexible composite innersole having a generally smooth and generally non-ribbing foot-side surface, said inseam-anchorage forming a shoulder projecting from the outsole-receiving side of the innersole, spaced inwardly from the edge of the latter, an upper lasted to said composite innersole with a marginal zone of said upper folded against said projecting shoulder and secured thereto by a line of inseam stitches extending through said marginal zone of the upper and through the shoulderforming portion of said inseam-anchorage and an outsole secured to said composite innersole and to the inseamed edge of said upper; said outsole being cementedly secured to the inturned marginal portion of said reinforcing sheet and to the portion of the tape overlying the same, in a zone inwardly of said, stitch-line.

7. The method of making a shoe which comprises providing a relatively thin unchannelled innersole having a relatively thin folded margindefining tape having a width-wise portion thereof on one side of its fold-line secured to and extending about the margin of at leastv the-forepart of the innersole, with the fold-line thereof constituting generally the inner boundarycof the zone in which said tape is secured to said innersole, said innersole having a .fiexible reinforcing fabric secured to the innersole inwardly and adjacent to said fold-line of the tape and having a marginal portion beyond the zone in which said fabric is secured to the innersole, which marginal portion abuts another widthwise portion of said tape on the other side of its fold-line, whereby said marginal portion of said reinforcing fabric may be folded about said fold- Iine acting as a hinge-line, fastening the margin of theshoe-upper and a welt strip to said marginal portion ofsaid reinforcing fabric by a line of inseam stitches extending through the edge of the welt strip and through the marginal zone of said shoe-upper and through said tape near the fold-line thereof and through the marginal portion of the reinforcing fabric near said foldline, folding inwardly said marginal portion of the reinforcing fabric and the Width-wise portion of said tape abutting it, and securing an outsole to said welt and cementing said outsole to the inturned marginal portion of said reinforcing fabric and to the in-turned width-wise portion of the tape abutting it.

8. A shoe including an unchannelled innersole blank, a reinforcing fabric adhered to the bottom surface of at least the forepart of said innersole blank in a zone spaced inwardly from the edge of said innersole blank and with the marginal portion of said reinforcing fabric folded back inwardly upon itself about a fold-line spaced inwardly from the edge of the innersole blank by a predetermined distance, a thin creased tape extending about the marginal portion of at least the forepart of the innersole blank along the bottom surface thereof, with a Width-wise portion of said tape, on one side of its crease-line, overlying and secured to a marginal portion of the innersole blank in a marginal zone between the edge of the innersole blank and the foldline of said reinforcing fabric, and said tape also having a raised portion on the other side of its crease-line, abutting and secured to the in-turned marginal portion of said reinforcing fabric, anv upper and a welt strip secured to said reinforcing fabric and to the raised part of said tape by a line of inseam stitches extending through an edge of said welt strip and through the marginal zone ofthe upper material and through the raised part of said tape and through said reinforcing fabric near the fold-line thereof and anchored in the fold-line thereof, and an outsole secured to said welt and cemented to the in-turned marginal portion of said reinforcing fabric and to the raised portion of said tape abutting it.

FRED L. AYERS.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 2,515,572. March 2 191m;

FRED L. AYERS.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows Page 2, second column, line 75, claim 1, for "felt" read --welt-; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correcti on therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 16th day of May, A. D. 191 1;.

Leslie Frazer (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

